Twins-Padres: Twins look to win fourth in a row

Both Joe Mauer and Ricky Nolasco came through their first rehabilitation with no red flags. Mauer will play tonight, probably as the designated hitter. Nolasco is now on a five-day program before his next start on Sunday.

Still no word on who will start on Saturday against the A's, opposite of Jeff Samardjiza.

San Diego righthander Odrisamer Despaigne throws from different angles, which will be a different kind of challenge for Twins hitters. ``He's El Tiante,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

The outfield took a beating from the Paul McCartney concert. There are patches all over the outfield and on each side of home plate, where two giant speakers were stationed. The Twins plan to replace a chunk of the turf while the team is on its road trip to Oakland and Houston.

Also heard that the field for the soccer doubleheader at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday was awful and both Man City and Olympiakos were not pleased with the conditions.

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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.

Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.